Remedial appliance.



E. PARKINSON.

REMEDIAL APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15. 1913.

1 ,QUAfi Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

JCQJ.

EMILY PARKINSON, 0F EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

REMEDIAL APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 15, 1913. Serial No. 806,761.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMILY PARKINSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Remedial Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a device or appliance for use in manipulating certain portions of the body in order to stimulate the natural action of the organs and will be found particularly desirable in stimulating the muscles of the abdominal region, for example, in massaging the muscles overlying the bowels, thereby aiding to overcome constipation.

My invention resides first in the recognition of the fact that manipulation as an aid to correct constipation requires the application of considerable pressure in the region of the bowels and that such pressure should be applied equally and systematically over a considerable area and so exerted as to produce a wave-like movement of the contents of the intestines. To provide a convenient means whereby these results can be produced, said means consisting in the pre ferred form of a spherical envelop containing a mass of loose particles such as shot. I prefer these latter because of their weight and also because of their shape they readily roll or move upon each other and thereby produce a kneading effect. The ball or sphere may be three or four inches in diameter and filled with small shot, say about No. 6. The cover or envelop is preferably of a soft but strong leather and is preferably provided with an inner lining of stout fabric.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation with part of the cover and lining broken away, and, Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view.

In the drawing, A, represents the cover which may be in sections sewed together.

B, represents a fabric lining, preferably of some strong-but. pliable material and, C, the mass of shot.

This ball when of the size shown-in the drawings and closely filled with shot weighs about three pounds and will retain its general shape in use. It is nevertheless quite easily distorted at all portions of its surface even by its own weight but only to a limited extent and this capacity I find has a most beneficial effect when the device is used for massaging the body, since the form of the shot sets up when the ball is rolled on a surface a movement within the interior of the ball and particularly near its contacting surface.

The device is particularly designed for use by persons suffering from constipation and is readily applied by rolling it gently over the bowels preferably while the person is lying down so that the full pressure due to the weight is brought to bear while the ball is slowly .rolled over the bowels in a circular or spiral path from right to left. The pressure will cause the depression of the abdominal wall and the line of contact of the sphere or ball will produce a forward r wave-like movement of the contents of the intestines thus aiding in their natural expulsion. The use of this device is easily learned and it can produce no injurious effects when used by the unskilled while its skilful use has been found to afford a corrective for constipation and an aid in relieving other forms of congestion.

The size of the ball and the particular manner of making may be altered without departure from the invention claimed which is:

A remedial appliance of spherical form, including an envelop formed of an outer covering of soft leather, whereby to adapt the same to distortion at all portions of its surface under the influence of externallyexerted pressure, a fabric lining arranged at the inner face of said covering, and a mass of closely packed spherical bodies arranged within the lining and each having relative rolling movement with respect to the contiguous bodies, whereby to exert internal pressure upon the envelop during movement of the appliance over the part being treated and thereby to distort the surface of the appliance in accordance with the changing configuration of the part under treatment.

EMILY PARKINSON.

Witnesses J osnrrrnvn WHALEN, Es'rrmn E. OSTWALD.

(topics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, .D. C.

Patented Nov. 28, I916. 

